Graduates of some of the state’s elite, private four-year institutions have debt at nearly the same level or even lower than their peers at public state and city schools, data show.

“Big sticker prices at schools are sometimes deceiving,” said Edie Irons, spokeswoman for the Institute for College Access & Success, a higher-education advocacy group.

Columbia University, for instance, charges $41,200 a year in tuition, yet its graduates have an average of $18,420 in student-loan debt when they receive their sheepskins.

Meanwhile, the average grad from CUNY City College leaves school with a debt of $16,950 despite having shelled out only $4,600 a year in tuition.

Debt levels for many SUNY grads is more than $20,000.

Grads from neighboring Barnard College have an average of $15,084 in debt, while CUNY Baruch alumni owe an average of $12,602.

“A lot of students who go to Columbia have financially stable parents who can foot the bill,” said Anthony Rosario, 27, a sophomore at City College who has already borrowed $10,000 and is working part time.

“They will graduate with a Columbia degree and probably be considered first for a job and they owe less. That’s the way of the world, but it does seem unjust.”

Columbia students agreed.

“A lot of people have the illusion that Columbia is unobtainable, and they choose City College over Columbia and end up owing more. That’s unfair,” said Emily Wilson, a senior who estimates she’ll owe about $16,000 after graduation.

The disparity continues at upstate schools.

SUNY Fredonia students have an average debt of $23,452, and SUNY New Paltz students owe an even $20,000, according to the data, collected by the Institute for College Access & Success on behalf of The Post.

Sarah Lawrence College, a private school in Yonkers, demands $41,000 in tuition, yet its graduates leave school with an average of $15,581 in debt.

Parents sending their children to private colleges may be able to afford a larger chunk of the expense, Irons said.

But, overlooked, she said, is “many private colleges have more resources for financial aid and may be able to provide direct financial support so students shouldn’t need to borrow so much.”

These grants and scholarships, she said, are awarded to students from middle- and even upper-middle-class families as well as the poor.

Still, there are plenty of private schools that leave its graduates with crushing debt.

New York University graduates top the state in debt with an average of $34,850 followed closely by Fordham University, whose students owe about $31,300 on average.